Thursday, November 27, 2008

Our prayers are with the hostages in Mumbai

With today being Thanksgiving, our prayers are with those hostages and victims in Mumbai.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Alan Colmes to leave Hannity

Last night Alan Colmes announced that he would be leaving the highly rated show that pairs him with Sean Hannity.

Although Alan is leaving the show, he is apparently staying with Fox, who he said has treated him extremely well over the years.

So much for Fox being one sided eh?

Alan is a class act.

Foxnews getting the cold shoulder?

The question is this "Is Fox News getting the cold shoulder from the Obama camp?" Apparently in the last four press conferences Fox News has not been allowed to ask a single question.

Obama spokesman, Robert Gibbs says "I would tell them, get a good question and stay tuned".

Emphasis was added there.

So who gets to decide whether a question is a good one or not? Apparently the Obama Administration will decide whether a question is appropriate and "Good Enough".

Hmmmmm makes one think.

Paul Volcker - Is this really what we need?

Paul Volcker is apparently being tapped by Obama for his economic team, a man that was Fed Chairman under Carter and was directly responsible for the economic disaster that this country endured during the late 70's.

That is not an attack, it is a fact. Facts are not negative, they are simply spelling out the truth.

So far, Obama has been pretty decent with his picks, not the same individuals I would have chosen, but certainly not off the radar screen either - until now.

Paul Volcker is a bad choice Mr. Obama and I would hope that you would reconsider this decision before we find ourselves in another deep deflationary period where prices drop and the monetary costs, inflation skyrocket and drive us into a depression.

Doom and Gloom is not my forte' but I am very concerned with this choice. Maybe Volcker has learned from his past mistakes, are we willing and able to risk that? At this time I say no.

What is the "Office of the President-Elect" ?

This one is a new one for me, and I am all ears if someone would explain what this office is? Is it defined somewhere in the Constitution? Is it a matter of public law or statute?

How long has this office been around? Who are the members ?

Inquiring Minds wanna know!

Status of new site

Just a quick FYI, the new site is coming along, we have the domain name registered and the DNS setup, just waiting at this point for everything to start propagating so we can test it.

I am excited about this change.....and looking forward to being able to have better control over the site.

Best emergency landing I have ever seen

As a private pilot, I have seen many emergency landings, accidents, etc., here is a video clip of what I would consider one of the best I have ever seen.




Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Obama's Agenda will not change

There seems to be this notion floating around that with the economy in its current state Obama will not be able to push his liberal agenda because there will not be the resources to do so.

It is precisely due to the economy that he will not only push his liberal agenda but will have a blank check in doing so. The deficit will approach 1 trillion dollars next year; we will see spending like we have never seen it before, and all of it in the name of strengthing the economy and providing jobs.

This is the time for all to pay attention and hold their feet to the fire and not allow them to spend ourselves into a hole that we cannot ever recover from.

The Shield - Final Episode

I was actually looking forward to watching the finale episode of The Shield tonight and with all the build up that we would not be left disappointed or hanging, well what can I say...

I promised to remain positive for this entire week, so........here are my thoughts:















































That about sums it up! :)

Will Black Friday produce?

With Black Friday almost upon us and with the economy still teetering on the edge of disaster, I am not alone in wondering how the day wil fair in the end?

In a short search of specials being advertised for that day, I have seen stores such as Best Buy offering HDTV units for upwards of $700.00 off the list price, Circuit City is offering over 50% discounts on selected items and thus the race begins.

It is interesting to note though, Apple Computer, Inc. so far has refused to get in the middle of the price slashing; which of course has been something of a common trait for Apple, they refuse to price their wares at prices below what they consider them worth and guess what? They are still in business AND turning a profit.

Monday, November 24, 2008

What happened to Civil Discourse?

It seems that in today's world of blogs, internet message boards, etc. that all civility and measure of decency has evaporated. Members of Congress attack each other with a viciousness that has not been seen since the early 1800's.

During the Reagan Administration (I know, some are already rolling their eyes), there was an honest and open disagreement on policy but the parties remained cordial and respectful; today, that is not longer the status quo rather it is the exception.

I recall seeing President Reagan and Speaker O'Neil talking in the White House and honetly enjoying each others company. They disagreed on policy, they disagreed on spending, but they remained friends and it showed.

It is time to bring back civility to the process, to show respect whether it is deserved or not, and even when we disagree remain cordial and polite.

Williamson Makes a Good Point

Sheriff Neil Williamson has made a good point that it is not good policy to just lock up every single person regardless of the offense. The Sangamon County Jail is not big enough and we cannot possibly build a jail big enough to lock everyone up.

Some are going to accuse the Sheriff of getting soft in his old age, or they may accuse him of being senile, but he makes sense. Unless there is an overriding reason, we need to use better discretion.

Hats off to Neil for trying to improve a bad situation.

A Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone

I would like to Extend a heartfelt Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, despite the turmoil we currently face, there are still so many things to be happy and thankful for.

May G-d bless all of you.

Footloose and Cancer Free

In the spirit of remaining positive this entire week we are on day two and what better news can there be than to be told that the latest test results show we are still cancer free, three years and counting now.

All else pales in comparison.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

The Biggest Shopping Day of the Year

While many others will be out shopping on Friday, November 28, 2008 - I will be taking in a wonderful day of history as I join with three friends for a day of pheasant hunting.

Yes, you heard me right, I am going to be loading up the dogs, the shotguns, and a pocket full of shotgun shells and head out for a brisk morning of coffee and the smell of burnt powder as we lay claim to the all American tradition of hunting pheasants in Central Illinois.

It will be the first hunt this season for all of us, and probaly one of the last for any hunter in Illinois, but since I promised to spend a week of writing nothing but positive comments, I will leave it there.....a happy day of hunting! Nothing could be better!

Rockford Visitors Bureau Downtown Plan

The Rockford Visitors Bureau is working on a plan that has been in the making for five years - namely to create a downtown hotel and conference center.

This is based on the original plan of a convention center but on a more scaled version.

Rockford has never been able to generate much interest in the downtown district due to the lack of accomodations and they have yet to get a developer interested. With the river front, the Metro Centre, the Coronado Performing Arts Center, etc. the Visitors Bureau believes that now is the time and the economics would work.

I hope the plan succeeds.

Brett Favre does it again!

Brett Favre has done it again, the Jets have handed the Titans their first loss of the season with a 34-13 loss in Tennessee.

Congratulations to Favre and the Jets! You have proven that you are still the best of the best.

Congratulatons to SHG

I would like to extend my congratulations to Sacred Heart Griffin's football team for advancing to the finals.



Good luck!

Republicans have a wonderful opportunity

With only 708 days until the mid-term elections the Republicans have a wonderful opportunity to redefine themselves to the the voters.

I have three positive suggestions for them over the next 708 days that they can do that will give them a huge advantage going into the elections:

1. Remain positive. When you need to attack an Obama position, do so by offering an alternative, an alternative that is WORKABLE.

2. Stay true to the basic principles of supply-side economics which has in all cases proved to be the one economic plan that works.

3. Get your message out, engage the party at not only the national leve, but get them engaged and onboard at the state and local level, right down to the precinct committeeman. They will have the ability to tailor that message to the voters and without the Presidential bully pulpit, we need them.

Three basic steps that will greatly aid in reversing the losses, three positive steps that will allow the party to gain seats instead of losing them and three steps that are SIMPLE AND EASY.

We will be moving

I have been working for some time now to move the blog from blogger.com to a Wordpress based blog. Partly I just want a change of scenery, part of it is I want a bit more control and I am already using wordpress for some other business related projects.

So in the next month or so I hope to complete the move to Wordpress, which will provide far more features, skins, and sort of spruce the place up a bit.

I know I am excited about it for several reasons, one of which will be that I handled the complete installation myself.